1925 Model T farm truck

[GTMust]

I thought I'd already done a WIP on this....... I must be getting old........ I can't find it. Anyway, if I did, forgive me for repeating myself and I've brought it up to date as of today.

The concept is a 25 T that had been abandoned after a crash, recovered by an old farmer and turned into a farm truck to replce poor old "Dobbin" the long suffering horse. It's set in a time period sometime in the mid thirties and has seen a lot of hard work around the farm.

Here's what I started with, a really worn out old AMT 25 T coupe body and fenders that I found in a junk box at a thrift store.

Cut it into three sections, discarded the middle piece and glued the other two back together. Also cut off the fenders for a future junkyard dio.

I stole the new fenders, chassis, hood and other missing parts from a new 25 T "3 in 1" kit and built a tilt bed for the back.

a couple of primer coats and it's ready for finish coat and some weathering.

Now it's pretty much finished, except I still have to add wiring and hoses to the engine and a couple of other small details before it goes "under glass". I built a quick dio base of a muddy farm track and will add a fence, weeds and other details, but meanwhile it brings the model a little more alive.

Suggestions and comments always welcome and taken in the spirit in which they are given. Hope you like it:

[Harry P.]

It looks very good, but I'd say the wooden parts need weathering. The wood is much too light and clean; I'd use some stain on the wood and then add some dirt and wear.

[Nick Winter]

Wow that looks Great Tony, Can you maybe explain how you did the base, something like that might work for my Bel Air.

Nick

[pepperdrumstix]

Excellent save of a mostly ruined old kit. I love old trucks and try to build them as often as I can. Nice weathering on the body and it looks like what a frugal but talented farmer would create to save money and to get the farm work done. Fine little dio base too. Harry is right the wood does look too new to fit with the truck but Hey, the farmer could have replaced it already after the original wood wore out. Good job and a very interesting build. Maybe think about a hitch on the back somewhere to pull a hay trailer to feed livestock or other farm equipment. Just a thought. I spent many summers on one of my uncles farms in Ohio. Almost drove a small tractor through a barn when the throttle stuck. Thanks for the post and photos, Patrick M

[Olds Rocket 88]

Very nice, you have a great imagination to save an old body and come up with something so cool !!

[Danno]

That's interesting!

[Modelmartin]

Very fun model! You give the old farmer too much credit for doing such sophisticated bodywork! Most would have sawed it off at the doorline and left it!

[GTMust]

Thanks guys. Great comments and suggestions. Much appreciated.

Harry: I agree about the weathering of the wood. I did think about more rustic, weathered boards but wasn't sure how to achieve it, so I left it for now. I'm going to experiment with a few ideas to achieve the look you suggested.

Nick: First I trowelled on a layer of white spackle where the track would be. While it was still drying, I dabbed at it with a bunched up paper towel; then rolled a spare wheel from the kit, guided by a steel straight edge ruler, along the wheel track location. I then flooded the whole base with a watery wash of light tan (and a little black) dollar store acrylic craft paint (the same stuff I used to add the muddy look to the truck). White glue straight from the bottle was spread over the grass area and model railway "grass" sprinkled over that. The grass cover will need more work with different colors and grades to look more realistic. The whole base took about half and hour to make but adding additional details will probably take a lot longer!

Modelmartin: I think the farmer had a son who was learning the trade as a body man?....... Or maybe not!

Now to find another thrift store junker!

[Tony T]

Nice save, Tony! Well done!

As to the weathering of the wood, that can be done at another time, and it won't be hard to find some old wood outdoors to see what our Canadian weather does to wood that is left outside! Amazing also what a simple base can do to add to "the story". Nicely done!

[mnwildpunk]

I really really like this build I'm building a pretty close to T. and I like what you have done here

[ChrisBcritter]

Don't bother weathering the bed - just scatter some bits of wood and a few tools like a saw and a hammer, and there you go - Farmer Brown just finished and went home for vittles. Maybe add "This End Up" to one of the slats (upside down, of course ).

Edited October 10, 2013 by ChrisBcritter

[Agent G]

Looking good!

Take some neutral gray acrylic paint, thin it way out with something like isopropyl alcohol and lightly brush it on. You get a nice gray/tan patina like weathered bare wood.

Don't soak the wood, it will prevent warping and dry faster.

G

[Ramfins59]

Tony, try finding some stuff called Weatherall at a well stocked HS. It gives wood a grayish weatherworn look. It brushes on easily and the more you apply the more weathered the wood will look.

[Danno]

Fine flivver!

[Tom Geiger]

On weathering the bed -- you can stain it with a number of things, from the muck in the bottom of your thinner jar, to products specifically made for this. I've used actual Minwax stain as well. Another thing I've done is taken a jar of Polly S acrylic flat brown and just used the thin stuff on the top of the bottle to use as stain... you know, the stuff at the top before you shake it. And a final thought, some guys were using soy sauce for stain. You could probably do that with one restaurant packet!

Keeping in your theme, I think your farmer would have made the bed from old wood. So I'd mess up the edges and give it some gauges. You can add knot holes by drilling a hole and inserting a tooth pick in it. Cut it off and sand it flat, and you'll have a convincing knot hole. Keeping with the used wood theme, I'd paint at least one board red, as if salvaged from an old barn. Oh, and nails can be fudged simply by adding a Sharpie black dot where they should be!

Cool model, great save and I'll be looking forward to seeing what you do with the bed!

[Dinky]

Impressive, like the diorama also.

[Shardik]

Great build and creative save.

Re.: weathering the wood, there is a great product called "Weather-it" which is intended for this very purpose. It imparts a very natural looking weathered appearance with very little (if any) warpage, as long as you apply it to both sides of the wood. I used it on the bed of my '37 Ford 4x4 conversion, and was very pleased with the results.

[crazyrichard]

awsome !! love it

and yes that wood needs some coats of stain and some filth haha

[Edward Gore]

Cool unique little vehicle.

Build, paint and weathering look great.

[Eshaver]

I likes it , Not too concerned with what the neighbors said bout it ........................

[GTMust]

Wow...... I built this back in early 2011 and haven't looked at it since then. I put it in a display case and now it sits on a friend's mantle.

I really appreciate all the latest comments..... and if I still had it, I'd definitely think about trying some of them.

Maybe on the next one?

Tony

[charlie8575]

Nice job on this, Tony.

Charlie Larkin

[Ace-Garageguy]

A great save. I love seeing stuff that most folks would throw in the trash turned into fine models. Very nice.